July is National Ice Cream Month! I shared my love of ice cream and all things frozen by hosting a blogging event: Ice Cream, You Scream in 2008. I received entries from as far away as Serbia and as close to home as my very own kitchen.

This year, there won't be an extravaganza of ice cream displays, but I will post a frozen treat or two to NikSnacks for you all to enjoy during the month of July.

White Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Sandwich

*I promise, if I ever open a restaurant, I will sell these. They are that delicious. I used as much restraint as possible to not eat all of them at one sitting.

2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
5 egg yolks
2 cups caster sugar (or Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups frozen raspberries, crushed
2 oz. Chambord (or other raspberry/framboise liquor)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they are well-blended. Gradually add the caster sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar (which means slowly and gradually pour a portion of the hot milk into the eggs to raise the temperature of the eggs without cooking them) by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour the entire tempered mixture back into the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently (using a heat-safe spatula and continuously scraping the bottom of the sauce pan will ensure you don't have cooked egg floating in your soon-to-be ice cream), until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
*If you do have cooked egg in your mixture, simply use a fine-mesh strainer and remove the egg bits.
Pour the mixture into a container and stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator until cool, stirring occasionally, to help the cooling process.
Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. 15-20 minutes into the churning process, add the raspberries, Chambord and white chocolate chips, while the machine is running. The entire freezing process should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

A melting ice cream sandwich.

I won't patronize you & show/tell how to put together an ice cream sandwich. If you do need help, you can always email me at nicolettemiller{at}hotmailDOTcom.

Adam: Thanks! Yeah, I have to lay off the macadamia...don't want to die or anything like that. And this restaurant, it could totally be close to Raleigh. And if that doesn't work out, I'll be like the Lobster Gram people and ship food all over the U.S. overnight.